While the City of St. John’s has openly taken a stance against the federal government’s ban on hiring temporary foreign workers, the City of Corner Brook says the issue has not been brought forth to it yet.

The federal government announced the moratorium on hiring foreign workers in April after there had been complaints some businesses were abusing the program.

Earlier this week, the city council in St. John’s voted to write the federal government, requesting the ban be lifted because it could result in some people being forced to go back to their home countries if they were unable to reapply for work visas in Canada.

When asked if Corner Brook was considering doing anything similar to what St. John’s has done, Mayor Charles Pender said he and council have been following the stories as reported in the media but the issue has yet to come up for discussion with council.

Corner Brook does have a community of foreign workers employed mostly at local food establishments. Pender could not say what council would do if the issue was brought forth by those workers or from the businesses that employ them.

“We would first have to know what the impact would be on our business community and the workers we have here now,” he said. “But, so far, this is not an issue here that has come to our attention.”